Do You Know Your Lemons? These Photos Are Helping Women Detect Breast Cancer

January 17th, 2017

Do you know your lemons? Worldwide Breast Cancer’s ‘Know Your Lemons’ campaign is using lemons to help women around the world detect breast cancer. Deemed the ‘first breast cancer awareness campaign’, Worldwide Breast Cancer is fighting back against cancer by showing women what to look for and feel for while doing a breast self exam.

Before the images went viral, Erin Smith Chase posted her personal experience with breast cancer on Facebook and urged women to share these photos to raise awareness. She said, “I knew all about self exams, but a picture of what to look for keyed me into knowing I had a terminal disease.”

Many of us know someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Some of us are breast cancer survivors. Now more than ever, it’s important to raise awareness and make time for breast exams. Above all, we must make time to take care of ourselves. Whether you’re planning on making an appointment with your health care provider or checking your breast tissue at home, there are two types of exams for detecting breast cancer:

Breast Self Exam

Breast self exams are typically done at home. They involve feeling for lumps, bumps, and irregularities in breast tissue. It’s also important to pay attention to how your breasts look. We suggest checking out Breastcancer.org for The Five Steps Of A Breast Self Exam, a step-by-step guide that can help you perform a breast self exam at home.

Mammogram

A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast, completed on a machine specifically designed for breast x-rays. There are two kinds of breast x-rays, the first being a screening mammogram and the second being a diagnostic mammogram. Most women only need a screening mammogram, but if anything is detected, a diagnostic mammogram is the next step. Mammograms can help identify calcifications (mineral deposits) and both cancerous and non-cancerous masses (including cysts) or tumors, within breast tissue.

If you’re performing a breast self exam, here’s what breast cancer can look and feel like:

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Katie Donnelly

Katie Donnelly is a full-time freelance writer, content manager, and founder of Katie Rose Creative. An experienced bra fitter, Katie has helped hundreds of people shop for lingerie. Her favorite bra is the Sandrine Plunge Longline Bra. View all posts by Katie Donnelly